MILDURA will benefit as Australia enters a “second era of rail”, the federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester says.

The federal Budget allocated $20 billion to rail projects, including $8.4 billion for an inland rail link connecting Melbourne and Brisbane with standard gauge track and a $10 billion national rail program for urban and regional passenger projects.

Asked whether the inland rail investment improved the prospects of a transcontinental rail link connecting the Mildura rail line with the Sydney to Perth route at Menindee, Mr Chester said: “I think we’re going to see a lot of rail investment across Australia in the next decade.”

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